


I'll be your teapot you just warm me up

by Hyorangejuice



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Hybrid!AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 18:13:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1753861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyorangejuice/pseuds/Hyorangejuice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joonmyeon owns a tea shop. It's a nice shop with many different kinds of costumers, from old ladies to high-schoolers. And then there is Jongdae.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be your teapot you just warm me up

**Author's Note:**

> idek what i was doing. but sure as hell i wasn't supposed to do this. i just indulged myself a whole lot.

Joonmyeon owns a tea shop, it's a quaint little store nicely settled on the corner of a bristling street in the old part of the city, inside the first ring of walls. They sell all kinds of tea plus one, and since the business has been going rather well they set up a little corner with very few tables for those costumers who want to enjoy their treats along with a hot hot cup of their favorite tea.  
Joonmyeon is not the only owner, he has Baekhyun to share his pains and joys with, and now their latest addiction, Yifan, their clumsy sort-of baker who thinks a slice of cake can solve everyone's problems. 

Their costumers vary from young kids who sip from their mothers' cups, to teenage girls who come in 'to fawn over Yifan's perfect skin' and old ladies who like to gather and chat around a cup of sweet tea. There are the random dates, who hold hands over the table and have Baekhyun gag behind the coffee grinder, while, Joonmyeon knows, he is a closeted romantic. 

And then there is him, short, thin body hidden under layers and layers of fabric, like he's wearing around his whole wardrobe at once. He looks no older than eighteen, but Joonmyeon doubts that he really looks his age. He always wears a beanie and stares at his tea as it cools, only drinking it when it's lukewarm. He always pays in coins, scraping them up from the pockets of his jeans, watching curiously as Joonmyeon takes down from the shelf the day's selection. He's cute, always fidgeting on his seat peering curiously out of the window at the steady glow of the Christmas lights wired around lamp-posts and bushes. 

“He's weird” is Baekhyun's opinion about it. “Cute, but weird. Like runaway child kind of weird”

Yifan is testing a new chocolate, cinnamon and walnuts cupcake to go with Joonmyeon's new Christmas blend, he is bent over the oven, looking anxiously at the timer, while Joonmyeon nips at some leftovers from the last batch of cookies. 

“I think he's just... special” Joonmyeon muses, right when the timer goes off and Yifan quickly takes the cupcakes out of the oven with the utmost care and reverence. 

Yifan hadn't always been a baker, he wasn't a proper baker even when he applied for the job at the shop, he was an accountant, a nine-to-fiver who had a thing for morning cooking programs and decided he'd rather bake cute things than sit on a wheeled chair all day putting not so cute numbers into not so cute columns. He was good at it though, took his job very seriously, and mostly asked half of what all other bakers had asked and they really couldn't say no to that, crisis and all.

“Yeah, a special snowflake, just like you” Baekhyun mocks him, refilling the Rose Garden pot, it's their best seller lately. 

Yifan gives each of them a cupcake to taste and removes the others from the silicon mold. “I think he just likes tea” he says, not looking at them, but both Joonmyeon and Baekhyun know that Yifan just put a stop to any further comments about the weird snowflake who likes tea. 

The cupcakes are good enough to sell, so they decide to make a special Christmas sale, to promote both the new blend and the new cupcake. Yifan sings to himself for the rest of his shift. 

 

The shop is especially busy during Christmas, so much that they sometimes have Yifan come up at the register to help them, but even then they barely manage. Today it's not one of those days, though, it's the kind of slow busy that never leaves you bored, but doesn't tire you out either and Joonmyeon is glad about that because he can spare a few minutes for the weird special snowflake when he ventures inside the shop with his usual scarred look. He is wearing a tight-knitted sweater of a deep blue that reaches mid-thigh, and baggy jeans, he lowers his green scarf to smile when he sees Joonmyeon behind the counter. Baekhyun coughs out a 'sucker' when Joonmyeon beams back. 

He tugs at his beanie once he reaches the counter, unwinding the scarf from his neck. “Hi”

“Hi to you too, what can I get you today?” 

Jongdae looks thoughtfully at the menu behind Joonmyeon. “The new Christmas blend?”

Joonmyeon nods, taking down the pot from the shelf, he uncaps the lid and has Jongdae sniff it. “It's pink pepper, cloves, cinnamon and coriander, nice, right? I called it Snow Ball”

Jongdae nods and Joonmyeon sets to prepare his tea. “Go have a seat, I'll bring it over right away”

It's been roughly two months since Jongdae started showing up at the shop, Joonmyeon thinks to himself as he waits for the water to reach the perfect temperature. They know nothing about him, tea preferences aside, and maybe Baekhyun is even a tiny bit right about Jongdae being a runaway, he has that scarred look sometimes.  
With the corner of his eyes, Joonmyeon sees Baekhyun setting a tray of their new cupcakes in the display and thinks why not. 

“I'm taking a break” he whispers to Baekhyun, as he places a cupcake on a cute plate and puts it on a tray, along with a tea-pot and two cups. 

Baekhyun doesn't trip him just because it would be a waste to throw away such a nice tea pot. Joonmyeon grins at him as he approaches Jongdae's table. 

“I hope you don't mind if I join you for a little while” he says, settling on the chair opposite to Jongdae and placing the tray between them on the table. “I'm Joonmyeon”

Jongdae looks surprised for a moment, but then shakes his head. “No problem. I'm Jongdae”

He has a nice smile, a little kittenish and a little mischievous. Joonmyeon slides over to him the cupcake and Jongdae's eyes widen before he uselessly tries to push it back to Joonmyeon. “It's on the house” Joonmyeon reassures him. “It's new and we need guinea pigs” 

Still a little dubious, Jongdae licks a little of the frosting before giving it a generous bite. “It's cinnamon, chocolate and walnut with a apple and meringue frosting. What do you think?” 

If the look on Jongdae's face is anything to go by these cupcakes will sell great. Joonmyeon pours them a cup of tea and they both take a moment to appreciate the rich aroma. 

“Just like Christmas” Jongdae says, nose almost dipping in his cup. 

“That was the intention” Joonmyeon takes a sip and thinks that maybe he should have put more raisins. 

“You make all of these?” Jongdae motions for the teas stocked on the shelves behind the counter and, basically, on every free wall. 

“Baekhyun helps... sometimes”

“I heard that!” Baekhyun hollers, from where he is making a gift wrap for one of their regular costumers. He menacingly points his scissors towards Joonmyeon, only making him laugh harder.

“He's a softie on the inside” Joonmyeon whispers to Jongdae. 

Jongdae chuckles, fixing his beanie further down over his black bangs.

“So, since you've been coming here for so long I take it you like the place?”

“It's nice” Jongdae says, looking into his tea. “I can take my mind off from things when I'm here. And the lights are so pretty” he looks outside where the Christmas lights shine brightly in the late afternoon dimness. 

“You live in the neighborhood?”

Jongdae's smile falters for a moment. He shakes his head. “No, I don't live in the neighborhood” his hands rest on his thighs and he scratches the denim of his jeans nervously, shifting a little on his seat, like he always does. It's a little discomforting to look at, like he can never really be comfortable no matter what, and Joonmyeon would really like him to be comfortable at least here. He's not really sure how to word that out without making Jongdae all the more uncomfortable.

“I work at the market place, down the road and a nice lady once told me about the tea shop” he adds, with a small smile, one that has the corners of his lips to lift just slightly, then taking another, smaller, bite out of the cupcake. 

Yifan has come out from the kitchen to help Baekhyun with the few costumers that lined up in front of the register, with a transparent plastic bag in one hand and red wrapping paper in the other he looks with dismay at the selection of ribbons and laces Baekhyun had to buy, Joonmyeon decides to take pity on him. 

“I think my break is over” he sighs, taking one last gulp of tea, while Jongdae still hasn't touched his. 

Jongdae turns to see Yifan, in his red chef uniform, behind the counter and giggles. “He looks a little lost”

“Enjoy your tea” Joonmyeon says and, with one last smile, he goes back behind the counter, trying to save Yifan from his big hands. 

 

*

 

When Jongdae doesn't come back for more than a week Joonmyeon starts to worry. Baekhyun tells him it's just his mother hen instincts, but Joonmyeon still goes out of his way to pass by the market place, looking for Jongdae around the stands. He doesn't find him, but the middle aged man of the seasonings stand tells him Jongdae was there that morning, helping to unload the trucks. At least there is that.  
It's only three days later that Jongdae shows up again and Joonmyeon, finally can take a relieved breath.  
The shop is full though, and Joonmyeon can spare him just a few minutes while he prepares his order. 

“It's been a while” he says smiling brightly, winching a little when Baekhyun pinches his butt with a snigger. 

“I took a little part-time in a moving company, so I didn't really have time... ”

Today he's wearing a nice red beanie, his usual wool scarf and a sweater at least two sizes too big that looks almost new. 

“So, what can I get you today?” 

“Gingerbread tea, please” Jongdae says with one of his kittenish smiles, before taking a seat at the last free table. 

This time Bakehyun just sighs when Joonmyeon slips Jongdae a few of their Earl Gray cookies. 

While he works Joonmyeon occasionally sneaks glances at Jongdae, he looks even more pensive than usual, his shoulder sag a little more under a weight Joonmyeon would gladly help to lift. His hands run up and down his thighs, while his feet dance under the table, never quite able to sit still.  
Joonmyeon smiles to the next girl in line who would like to try their Blue Sea blend and do they have that apricot pie she tired last time? Then next up an old lady who can't remember which blend she usually gets, does Joonmyeon know? And then Christmas wraps and ribbons and Baekhyun's barely whispered seething comments and Joonmyeon would really like to stuff his head inside Yifan's oven.  
He sighs, resigned, and turns to look at Jongdae, who is refilling his cup, careful not to spill even a little bit. 

“A very special snowflake indeed” Baekhyun says, as he rings up another costumer. 

“Yes, very special” Joonmyeon agrees, because despite whatever Baekhyun says, Joonmyeon does not always feel the urge to help everyone in need. Jongdae must definitely be special. 

 

*

 

He's coming back from a quick trip to the grocery store, it's a Friday night after a long long day at the shop. He can feel the headache start to press right behind his eyes and if he doesn't take something quick he's going to have a very long night ahead of himself. There is a light fog hovering between the buildings, and the cold is starting to get to him, he should have wore the heavier coat, even if 'the store is just around the corner'. He quickens his steps and when he is about to cross the street, he looks right, then left and it's then that he sees them.  
There is a man, rather large and definitely tall, wearing a blue uniform - Joonmyeon recognizes as the one the animal shelter guards wear- who is backing a scrawny kid against a wall. The man keeps his arm spread out, ready to catch the kid were he to bolt, Joonmyeon would pay no mind to the scene usually, but then the scrawny guy takes a step towards the guard, coming to stand under the yellow light of the lamp-post and Joonmyeon freezes mid-step.  
Jongdae is curved on himself, with his eyes blown, and clearly freaked out. Joonmyeon takes some quick steps ahead, a warning ready on his lips, what would a animal shelter guard want with him? But then he sees them, pitch black just like Jongdae's hair, flattened ad twitching, a pair of cat ears, and he gapes, almost unable to believe his eyes.  
For a moment he hesitates, too surprised to even utter a word, but then Jongdae's eyes fall on him, big, black and scared and Joonmyeon pulls his act together and with long strides approaches the duo with a very vague idea of what he is going to say. He had always been a good liar during his school years. 

“Jongdae-yah? What are you doing here?”

The guard seems startled, turning around to face the newcomer with his brows furrowed. “You know this hybrid?”

Joonmyeon laughs mockingly. “Of course I know him, he's my pet, sir, and I would really like to know what you are trying to do with him” his tone is icy cold and the guard straightens, looking between Joonmyeon and Jongdae, who is still tense and doesn't take his eyes off of Joonmyeon. 

“Yours?” the guard doesn't look convinced. “Why is he not wearing a collar?”

“He doesn't like it, I'm not going to force him to wear it” Joonmyeon doesn't wait for the man to retort, he looks at Jongdae and waves his grocery bag. “I told you I was just going out to pick groceries, what are you doing out, you dummy? Missed me already?” 

He side steps the guard, winking at Jongdae when he is sure he can't be seen, Jongdae relaxes a little when Joonmyeon slings an arm around his shoulders. 

“Now, apologize to the guard for the trouble” 

Jongdae looks at him sideways and Joonmyeon nods. They both bow and Jongdae, with a scratchy voice mutters a 'sorry'. 

“Sorry to take up your time, sir” Joonmyeon says for the both of them. 

“He has to wear a collar, pets can't just go around like that. If he doesn't he might end up in a shelter, and you'll have to pay a fine to get him out” the guard has a reprimanding tone, and puts his hands on his hips to underline his point. 

Joonmyeon bows again, thanking the guard for his kind assistance, and with his arm still around Jongdae's shoulders, they walk in silence towards Joonmyeon's apartment. When they round the corner and the guard can't see them anymore, with Jongdae securely under his arm, only then Joonmyeon lets himself breath. 

 

“Take off your shoes” Joonmyeon orders as he turns on the light of the 2DK where he lives comfortably since he moved out from the cramped one room apartment he used to share with Baekhyun when they first opened the shop and had to count every cent. He glances briefly at Jongdae's soaked socks and instructs him to take those off too. 

“Wait in the kitchen”

Jongdae has put back his beanie while they walked, Joonmyeon didn't know how to tell him it was fine when Jongdae looked so ashamed of himself. How could he not know? How could Jongdae hide it for such a long time? What if Joonmyeon hadn't been there to help him? They could have taken him to the shelter and who knows where he would've ended up. Or what if it wasn't a guard who saw him? What if...  
Meanwhile Jongdae stands by the door, fidgeting, and not really knowing where to look, it's painful to watch. Joonmyeon gives him a pair of striped socks and Jongdae accepts them with a small bow of his head. 

“Come sit. And take off that beanie, doesn't it itch?” Joonmyeon scrunches up his nose. 

“A little” Jongdae admits, sliding it off before he bends down to put on Joonmyeon's socks. 

After a beat of awkward silence Joonmyeon clears his throat tryng to find something to say. “So you are a cat” 

“A hybrid” Jongdae specifies. “I'm a cat-hybrid. I have cat-ears and a tail and... ”

“A tail?” Joonmyeon leans over to take a proper look but there is no tail hanging about Jongdae. Not until Jongdae, cheeks flushed red, doesn't pull it out from the left leg of his jeans. 

“Oh” is all Joonmyeon can say about that. 

He gives Jongdae a pair of clean sweats and a shirt and has him shower. He waits out of the door feeling a little like a creep until the water starts running and then goes about re-heating the water in the kettle he left on the stove before making a quick trip to the grocery store. Figuring Jongdae could use something calming before going to bed he takes the camomile herb tea down from the pantry.  
Left staring at the kettle, Joonmyeon is hit with a wave of self-consciousness and runs to close the door to his hurricane-swept room and goes check the guest bed-room. He plumps up the pillows, smothers the comforter and runs back in the kitchen.  
Once Jongdae is out of the shower Joonmyeon pours the both of them a cup of camomile tea and seats Jongdae on the couch.

“You know it could have ended up a lot worse right? The shelter is not the worst place you could end up in” he sounds harsh even to his own ears and Jongdae winces, clutching his cup. 

“I'm sorry. I know I was reckless”

“Shouldn't you have a house? A family?” 

From what Joonmyeon remembers from some reading he did years ago every hybrid must be assigned to a family, who's able provide for them and still very few managed to escape the system, building a life of their own with the help of their former families. 

“I had one, but when their daughter married off I wasn't needed anymore. I ran off before they could send me to the shelter” Jongdae brings the mug to his lips, but winches when the hot liquid touches his tongue. “Before I left I had done some research, I could apply for emancipation, but I needed a reference letter from my old family. When I asked they laughed it off like it was only a childish request, they didn't even listen”

Joonmyeon's hands clench around his cup. “And now, where are you staying?”

“At the homeless shelter, whenever they have room, I don't really make enough to pay rent”

Tomorrow Joonmyeon will let Baekhyun scold him for his lack of better judgment, tomorrow he will spend his ten minutes in the shower thinking back to this exact moment and curse at himself for his stupidity, but now, with Jongdae curled on his couch, there is not really much he can say but “You can stay here” 

Jongdae's he shakes his head, “No, I can't” 

“Listen, if you still want to apply for emancipation I'll help you. I know it can be hard for you to trust a perfect stranger, but... I really want to help, if you'd let me”

Jongdae sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and nervously fiddles with his beanie. He looks tired, and not just physically, and when he dares to look up to Joonmyeon, the latter tries to muster up the most reassuring smile he can find because he really wishes Jongdae would find it in himself to trust him. 

“Thank you” is all Jongdae says.

 

 

*

 

“What do you mean Jongdae is a hybrid?” Baekhyun half-screeches when Joonmyeon breaks out the news the next day.

“I mean he has cat-ears and a tail and... ” 

Yifan is decorating perfectly even slices of Sacher torte, trying to make intricate designs with melted chocolate. Once he is done with the fourth he slides it over to Joonmyeon with a cake fork. Joonmyeon smiles, appreciating the little support Yifan is offering. 

“I told you he was weird” Baekhyun accuses, with furrowed eyebrows. 

Joonmyeon sighs, around a mouthful of Sacher. “He's just going through a hard time and has no place to stay so I offered mine”

“So you plan on adopting him?” Baekhyun tries to take one of the non-decorated slices, but Yifan's icy stare makes him retreat, sticking out his tongue. 

“He wants to apply for emancipation so adopting him would be the first step”

Baekhyun scoffs rather loudly, menacingly pointing his forefinger at him, reminding him of all those times Joonmyeon threw himself into things headfirst just to end up hurt and bruised for Baekhyun to stitch up with sugary tea and cakes and lots of sad Chinese movies. 

“If you want to help, do it, but think about it thoroughly because you'll also have to deal with whatever comes after” Baekhyun takes the tray with the finished slices, balancing it on his left hand and making Yifan furrow his brows in worry. “I'm not marathoning Autumn's Concerto ever again” he says before he walks out of the kitchen.

Yifan cleans his hands on the red washcloth he always has hanging on his apron. “You should do what you think is right. If anything happens we'll help you, Baekhyun too” 

Despite the knot that tied itself around his throat Joonmyeon manages to smile and hopes to bring at least a tiny bit of the reassurance he is feeling now back home. 

 

The Office for Hybrid Affairs doesn't particularly stand out in a street full buildings just like it. There is a golden plate right beside the automatic front door with the acronym O.H.A. engraved and nothing more.  
The receptionist is very welcoming, she smiles politely while she asks Joonmyeon the reason for his visit to direct him to the right office which is, apparently, the 'General affair Office'.

“Fourth floor, at the end of the hallway” she explains, pointing to the elevators. “You might have to wait a while”

Baekhyun won't be happy to hear that, but there is nothing he can do about it now. While he rides the elevator up he texts Yifan, and receives a an answer in less than two seconds, making him wonder what is Yifan really up to when he holes himself up in their kitchen. Walking down the hallway, smiling at the employees who greet him, Joonmyeon can feel the phone in his back pocket vibrating in rapid succession, Yifan probably related the news to a very dissatisfied Baekhyun.  
The door to the General Affairs is slightly ajar, and Joonmyeon can hear chattering coming from inside. There are five people sitting on the plush chairs and couches provided in the waiting room of the General Affair's office. The total lack of hybrids in a place totally devoted to their 'affairs' is a little disconcerting, but after he has taken a seat and looks around, Joonmyeon realizes that this place is not much about hybrids as it is about how to deal with hybrids. He is glad he had insisted to leave Jongdae at the shop.  
On the coffee tables there are old magazines and newspapers, but also pamphlets and informative brochures. 'The perfect breed to fit your need', 'Return Policy: the new 12071 regimen', 'Vade-mecum: do and don't for a perfect cohabitation'... .  
A woman sitting across from him looks nervous, she's tapping her foot on the horrible carpeting and her eyes skitter around the room before they settle on Joonmyeon and he is not quick enough to advert his gaze. Wrong move. 

“I've been here all morning” she says, leaning over a little. “Running up and down this place and no one was able to give me an answer, and now I'm back here”

Apparently she doesn't need Joonmyeon to take active part in the conversation, because she continues without even waiting for him to give the international sign of comprehension 'uhm'. 

“And all I need is a certificate to take that stupid cat out of the country for the holidays because my daughter won't come if she doesn't” she sighs rolling her eyes. “At least I got the satisfaction to tell my husband 'I told you so', because I told him when we first got her... ”

The woman gets on rumbling and to prevent himself from shutting her up by stuffing her mouth with the useless crap littering the table, Joonmyeon starts to recite all the teas and their ingredients they have back at the shop. It helps, a little, and when the urge gets even stronger her number is called, and that's when Joonmyeon realizes he doesn't have a number. This is why he hates to fill out his taxes, he always forgets something, luckily there is Sehun for that.

Two hours later Joonmyeon's number is finally called by the man with the thick glasses that appears to be in charge. In the two hours he spent there he has shredded to pieces three of the godawful brochures, he is glad that is finally his turn.

“It's me” he says and the man eyes him up and down in a rather unsettling manner.

“If you would please follow me” the man keeps the door open for Joonmyeon to step in the tiny office of the General Affairs and then goes to seat beside his desk. His name is Dr. Lim K.J. and he looks mildly constipated. 

“With what can I help you today, Mr... ”

“Kim Joonmyeon, and I would like to adopt an hybrid” 

“The procedure is long and we are very strict with the requirements to ensure the safety both of the hybrids and of the families who foster them” he ruffles through the pile of papers he has stacked in neat piles in front of him. “To avoid inappropriate uses of the hybrids” pointed stare at Joonmyeon. 

“Yes, I understand” he says politely, though he is sure somewhere along the way the man has insulted him. 

Dr. Lim is pulling out forms and documents piling them up in front of Joonmyeon with practiced ease. “This is a list of things you need to do as a pre-adoption preparations, have you already selected an hybrid? We provide a large list of reliable breeding companies and shelters, the choice must be made with both parties best interest in mind... ” 

It sounds like a format speech and Dr. Lim doesn't even look all that interested in what he is saying, he only delivers. “I already have an hybrid, a stray actually, that I would like to adopt” 

“And you have interacted with this stray?” the way Dr. Lim says 'stray' makes his face scrunch up like he just bit on a lemon slice. 

“Yes, we have interacted a few times and he has already agreed to the adoption” Joonmyeon hopes the sarcastic undertone won't go unnoticed.

Dr. Lim makes a noise that could be interpreted as total judgment of Joonmyeon's life choices or total indifference. Maybe a mix of both. 

“If that's the case I'd advise a thorough medical check-up, I'd recommend the HIV test, with strays is always best to make sure. You need to fill out this form with yours and your hybrid's general information, if you have problems determining the hybrid's age leave it blank for the doctor to fill”

It is nauseating how this man can talk about Jongdae, or any other hybrid for that matter, as if they were things, and suddenly he understands why Jongdae preferred running from his home and live on the street rather then let himself be handled by people who think of him as an object. 

“We need a guarantee from your bank that you will be able to provide financially and that your health insurance can cover eventual expenses”

Dr. Lim provides him all the forms and informative brochures Joonmyeon may ever need about things he didn't know he needed to know, and a list of clinics for hybrids in the neighborhood. He explains that first thing Joonmyeon should go to the fifth floor and get an appointment for the inspection, since there is already a waiting list, and hurry with the papers.

“I have another question, Dr. Lim. How can an hybrid apply for emancipation?” 

The change in Dr. Lim's demeanor is subtle, but Joonmyeon catches on it anyway, he sits straighter and his eyes get sharper as he examines Joonmyeon's expression. “You understand, Mr Kim, that if inspectors got wind of this being, let's say, an adoption of convenience the hybrid would be immediately taken into custody and you'd risk to end up in a black list of people who are deemed unfit for adoption, if not worse”

He smiles, all straight innocence and pure honesty. “This is totally not the case, Dr. Lim” 

 

*

 

“Six months, at least, before you can apply for emancipation” Joonmyeon is just back from the 'Hybrid's Affairs Office' with a stack of documents and a headache.

Jongdae is sitting on the edge of the chair, nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he hangs from Joonmyeon's every word.  
Baekhyun gets them two cups of Pink Dream, and grabs the papers from Joonmyeon's hands going through them quickly. They already locked up for the day and Yifan gathers a few leftovers on a tray and brings them over. 

“I took an appointment for next week, we should be able to get everything ready before then”

Baekhyun exchanges the documents for a slice of apricot pie, urging Jongdae to take some. Yifan smiles when the hybrid moans in pleasure after the first bite. Joonmyeon takes a sip of his tea and chances a look towards Jongdae who, is still wearing his beanie, and now that he knows what to look for, Joonmyeon sees the little twitches where his ears should be. 

“Take off your beanie” he says. 

Jongdae side-glances Baekhyun and Yifan, a little worried, but Joonmyeon nods reassuringly, and Jongdae shyly removes his wool hat, showing a nice set of ink black cat ears that, Joonmyeon knows from experience, are as soft as they look. Yifan watches him with a mixture of curiosity and awe and they both know that he's totally dying to pet him, but is holding back, afraid to step over a line. No such qualms worry Baekhyun who just reaches over and scratches just below Jongdae's left ear, earning himself a low purr. 

“Such a cute snowflake” Baekhyun coos, making Jongdae blush furiously. 

Joonmyeon coughs, subtly stomping on Baekhyun's foot, who graciously retreats his hand, smug smile never leaving his face. 

“Anyway, we need to get going” he puts on his coat and hands his scarf over to Jongdae who stubbornly refused to accept one of Joonmyeon's jackets that morning, and is wearing his usual four layers of thin sweaters that don't really make a difference in this weather. 

“I already have mine” Jongdae argues pointing at the green scarf loosely hanging around his neck. 

“It's cold out” it's Yifan who interjects, taking the scarf from Joonmyeon and handing it to Jongdae. Joonmyeon hides a smile behind his hand when Yifan drapes the second scarf around Jongdae's neck. The hybrid looks a little overwhelmed with the attention, but tugs Joonmyeon's scarf a little tighter around his neck nonetheless. 

 

“I never knew it'd be so much work” Jongdae sighs, raking a hand through his mussed hair. They are still a little damp from the shower, but Jongdae hates to blow-dry them, because of his ears. 

“I think we just need to take this step by step” Joonmyeon slides his glasses down the bridge of his nose to rub his eyes. “We'll sort this out, don't worry about it. But now I'm hungry so let's wrap it up for tonight”

As Jongdae gathers all the papers Joonmyeon goes about making dinner. They're having grilled fish with stir fried vegetables since, Jongdae brought home some delicacies from the market that morning. It's not everyday that Joonmyeon's fridge sees such a luxury and he ought to make the best out of it. Table cleared, Jongdae rolls up his sleeves and washes his hands in the sink. 

“Can I help?” he asks, coming to stand close to Joonmyeon.

“You can start cutting the vegetables, and you can put them in that pan over there”

Jongdae smiles, honest and raw, he stops his chopping to look at Joonmyeon. “I'll never thank you enough for this”

Joonmyeon would say it's no problem, but that wouldn't be quite right, so he settles for “I'm happy to help you” because that is completely true.

As they eat Jongdae shares bits of his day, where he got the fish, the nice lady who called him 'son', and the small and cozy room he used to have in the old house. And that's how Joonmyeon discovers that Jongdae actually went to school, after his little Miss whined so much and his parents had to give in. He only went up to middle school, but managed to build a hatred for biology and a nice appreciation for history. 

“I studied a little Chinese” he confesses, as if it were a dirty secret. “I wasn't very good at it, but I liked it”

Jongdae washes the dishes and Joonmyeon prepares a relaxing blend for the both of them. As he pours the tea inside the two mugs he hears Jongdae hum something under his breath, swaying his hips from side to side to the beat.  
The weirdest thing about this whole thing is that he is constantly waiting for the awkwardness to kick in, but it has yet to. Jongdae is rather tidy, sings in the shower, makes very bad jokes, and waits for him as he closes up for the day, unlike Baekhyun he takes out the trash and is patient with Joonmyeon's little obsessions (like the number of pillows allowed on the couch). Sometimes Joonmyeon forgets that Jongdae is half cat. But then Jongdae starts at a sudden noise and hisses, or purrs when Joonmyeon absentmindedly scratches his neck, he is suddenly reminded why Jongdae is here, that he is supposed to help him and not get comfortable in this little bubble.

With the nice feeling of a full stomach they curl on the couch, Jongdae tails flicks from side to side lazily as he settles comfortably, far enough from Joonmyeon not to make it uncomfortable, but close enough that Joonmyeon could comfortably lean over and pet him. Jongdae, Joonmyeon learned over the span of these few days, is subtle like that.  
What he also learned is that he easily gives in to these subtle invitations, even more easily than he'd like to admit. 

“You have work tomorrow?” he asks, scratching behind Jongdae's ears and then going for his neck. 

“Mh, why?”

“I managed to get the day off, so I thought we could go shopping for clothes and stuff” 

“I should be done by mid-morning” Jongdae snuggles closer, and hums in appreciation when Joonmyeon scratches him a little harder at the nape of his neck. “I can come by the shop and we can go, yeah?”

“No one at the market ever found out about you?”

“Nah, that's the nice thing they don't ask question and hire only for the day. I unload the trucks, get payed and leave”

Jongdae falls asleep soon after, curled on himself and with a lazy smile on his lips. Joonmyeon half carries him to his room and tucks him to bed. 

 

*

 

There is no shortage of shops for hybrids and Joonmyeon gets a little overwhelmed in front of the selection and tall piles of last season clothes with huge discount signs hanging over them. Jongdae seems to be quite in his element, though, wandering around . And while Jongdae puzzles himself over new jeans, Joonmyeon stands back and gives his opinion when asked.  
For once Jongdae has ditched his usual beanie, leaving his ears out in the open, and they are as expressive as his face is, flattening back in pure disgust when Joonmyeon holds up a Christmas-y sweater for him to look at and perking up when he digs out a pair of nice blue jeans.  
After a little more pressure from Joonmyeon Jongdae unwillingly picks a coat, and at least three other pairs of pants. With their arms full they march towards the register where a nice lady folds and stuffs their purchases in three large bags.  
Jongdae looks nervous, his tail flicking left and right in agitation, as the amount on the register's display rises and Joonmyeon squeezes his hand in a silent reassurance. 

“It's all right” Joonmyeon whispers handing the cashier his credit card. He's no Lu Han, but sometimes he likes to indulge in shopping, and if he gets a happy and finally properly dressed for the weather Jongdae in return, then all the better. “Don't worry” 

 

As he trails behind an excited Jongdae, Joonmyeon comes to learn that he has actually a liking for beanies, and hats in general, and reminds himself to let him find an appropriate one under the Christmas tree. (Or to tell Baekhyun when he'll undoubtedly ask what Jongdae would like for Christmas). He lets Jongdae drag him around, sometimes literally when Jongdae gets really excited about something and his ears perk up and he grabs Joonmyeon's hand to show him whatever wonderful thing he has found.  
It's when he doesn't hear or feel Jongdae bump into him for longer than five minutes that Joonmyeon starts to look around only to find himself surrounded by a rather large number of cute stuffed toys and no traces of his cat anywhere. 

“Jongdae?” he calls, looking around the shop. “He left me here?” he mutters, looking behind a huge polar bear. 

“Are you looking for the cute hybrid?” the kid behind the counter asks. 

“Yes, have you seen him?”

The guy nods, pushing his (fake) dark rimmed glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “He slipped out a little while ago. He was rather sneaky about it”

Joonmyeon sighs, thanking the guy, who gives him two thumbs up and a toothy smile in return. He holds his breath, once outside, looking left and right for a mop of black hair topped with a pair of pointy ears, but Jongdae seems to have vanished. An unpleasant feeling sneaks under his skin, and Joonmyeon clenches his fists tightly on the handles of the two shopping bags he is holding. Jongdae wouldn't just leave like that, he reasons, but when ten minutes later he is nowhere in sight yet, Joonmyeon starts to second guess himself. 

He is about to call Baekhyun, for whatever little support he can get, when familiar hands squeeze his wrist. Jongdae is smiling sheepishly, a little guiltily maybe, and Joonmyeon takes a relieved breath. 

“Where have you been?” he asks, trying to leave out the worries that for a moment had crowded his mind. 

“Sorry” Jongdae says, his ears flinching a little. And with a swift motion he replaces the bag in Joonmyeon's right hand with a small square box. “For you” 

The box is red, with small gold snowflakes dusted all over, the bow on top is red itself, and the whole thing is rather light. An unsure smile has made its way on Jongdae's face and Joonmyeon feels a little guilty himself for doubting him. Inside the box, on a velvety cloth there is a bracelet, made in fake black leather and silver, with a small round pendant. It's nice, just the kind of thing Joonmyeon likes. Jongdae is twitching on his spot, trying to read Joonmyeon's face and, possibly, his mind.

“It's nothing, really, compared to what you are doing for me, but... I wanted to give you something anyway” he worries his bottom lip peering at Joonmyeon between his growing bangs. 

Probably surprising the both of them Joonmyeon pecks Jongdae's cheek, just lightly. “Thank you” he says with an uncertain smile, his hand coming to pat Jongdae's head. 

Jongdae helps him fasten the bracelet around his left wrist and maybe it's just his imagination, but more than once, during the rest of the day Joonmyeon catches Jongdae staring at his left wrist and smile to himself. On the ride back home Jongdae nods off leaning on the fogging window of Joonmyeon's car. When they stop at a traffic light Joonmyeon's phone beeps with a message from Baekhyun. 

Never giving you a whole day off ever again.

 

*

 

 

The day before the inspection, Jongdae paces through the house with a lost look in his eyes, like he is not sure what to do with himself at this point. All papers have been signed and sent, the house is clean and with the sheets Baekhyun gave him as a 'room warming' present Jongdae's room looks a little more his own than it did his first night there, when he slept fitfully, curled on top of the covers. Joonmyeon sighs, peeking his head in the hallway where Jongdae is currently angsting.

“Everything is going to be fine” he tries. 

“Yes, I know” Jongdae says, walking toward Joonmyeon with his old ratted beanie clutched in his hands. 

Joonmyeon looks at it like he'd like to burn it and he reminds himself to, later, when the adoption has been settled and they won't have anything to worry about. 

“Do you?” he asks with a quirked eyebrow. Jongdae lets out a small laugh, and it's more than they managed to get out of him all day. “How about I run you a hot bath and then we watch a movie and then you stop fretting so much and have a good night sleep because tomorrow it's going to be totally fine”

Jongdae sighs, his shoulders finally losing a little of their nervous tightness and Joonmyeon smiles at the small victory. 

The bath seems to have worked wonders on Jongdae, who looks at least a ninety-five percent more relaxed than before, with his mussed hair and flushed cheeks as he sleepily curls himself beside Joonmyeon on the couch, leaning his head on Joonmyeon's shoulder. 

“What are we watching?” he mumbles blinking at the TV screen. 

“A movie about shoes” at least it's mostly about shoes, Joonmyeon hasn't really caught much of it, nodding off here and there. 

“That is a man?” he asks pointing to the ominously tall black guy in drag on the screen. 

“Yes” Joonmyeon answers.

“I could do that too” 

Joonmyeon chuckles. “What, dancing on heels or singing?” 

“Both. I have a cat's agility and equilibrium, walking on heels would be a breeze” Jongdae adjusts himself so that he is facing Joonmyeon a little more. “And I'd look good in red too” 

“Is this one of your future carrier choices?” Joonmyeon slides a little more on the sofa, letting Jongdae burrow his head in the crook of his neck. Jongdae is always more affectionate when he is tired, not really shy to ask for attention.

“Might be, you never know” Jongdae's eyes are already closed as he sniffs on Joonmyeon's shirt. “You'd have a free ticket for everyone of my shows” he adds a moment later. 

Joonmyeon tries hard not to imagine Jongdae wearing knee-high red leather boots and a lacy corset, singing his heart out as he eye-fucks everyone in a kilometer radius, he tries really. He's not entirely successful.

 

Baekhyun closes the lid of the Blue Dream pot and smiles to the umpteenth lady that asks where that dear Joonmyeon might be with all this costumers lining up. 

“Christmas is always so busy” she tops it off with a heavy sigh, like she's the one actually working her ass off behind the counter. 

“He had personal matters to attend to” he says through his teeth. He probably looks like he has a paresis from all the smiling, but whatever. 

“I hope nothing serious” says another, who was just waiting for her turn to worry about their favorite tea seller. 

“No, not at all. You don't have to worry” 

The kitchen doors swing open and Yifan stumbles out with yet another almost empty tray of cookies. Baekhyun guesses he is soon going to bring out one at time to check as frequently as possible if there are news. Baekhyun would gladly staple the doors closed, if only he could recall where Joonmyeon hid the stapler last time Baekhyun had a fit. Thinking about it probably not even Joonmyeon remembers.  
With a resigned sigh he takes pity on their poor baker. 

“I need help at the register” he says, pinching Yifan's side. 

Yifan doesn't even drop a crumble, he merely nods in acknowledgment, both of the task Baekhyun has just given him and of the state of frustration Baekhyun is into. 

“There is a green box in the top shelf of the first fridge, it's for you” Yifan says offhandedly. Baekhyun crooks an eyebrow at him. “Don't worry, you can reach it” he adds, avoiding the punch Baekhyun is aiming at his crotch, with all the grace his body allows him in such a restricted space. 

Slowly, but steadily the crowd dissipates, Baekhyun might just see the end of this interminable morning shift. It's been a long time since they managed to lock up for lunch break on time, a very long time. Yifan behind the counter, though, is nice, a nice distraction in between costumers and between asking himself if Joonmyeon is okay and alive or if everything just went terribly wrong and Jongdae has already been shipped to the nearest hybrid shelter.  
With all his teasing and warning, even Baekhyun warmed up to Joonmyeon's special snowflake, especially after it was clear how special he actually was.  
He is wrapping up a very nice gift box for an awkward student who has a really bad dye job, wondering if he should call him out on it or just let the poor guy walk around the world with such a monstrosity on top of his head, when Baekhyun realizes he can't hear the register beeping anymore.  
Turning, he sees Yifan staring wordlessly at something behind the thinning crowd, with a little crooning and standing on the tip of his toes Baekhyun sees Jongdae's alert ears and a shock of red that might just be Joonmyeon's scarf tightly wrapped around his neck. He can't really see much else, but the stupid smile Yifan has on right now tells him everything. 

 

The inspection had dragged for two long hours, both of them had been very thoroughly interrogated and then they had left, with the pile of documents Joonmyeon had prepared for them and with a huge share of their worries.  
Joonmyeon now has a small blue book with Jongdae's name on it where he is supposed to write down all relevant stuff, medical and not, and the first thing he did when the nice lady gave it to him was to give it back to Jongdae. 

“First step” he said with a small smile and he couldn't really reject the bone crushing hug Jongdae wrapped him into. 

Before the shop has to open for the afternoon shift they all go celebrate at the BBQ restaurant at the end of the street, they probably eat too much to be able to work as fast as they should later, but that thought does not worry any of them. 

“So, Jongdae, do you have an idea of what you want to do?” Baekhyun asks, pouring Jongdae some more water. 

“I think I want to finish school first” Jongdae says thoughtfully, tapping his bottom lip with the end of his chopsticks. 

Baekhyun coos at him, ruffling his hair affectionately. “You do that” he says. 

Jongdae grins at them, so unbelievably happy that Joonmyeon has to look away for a moment.

 

*

 

“So, where is Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks, with his head propped on his palm and a bored expression etched on his face. 

Joonmyeon, who is wiping the tables with a dump cloth, looks out of the window to the progressively less busy street, waiting for Jongdae to turn the corner any moment. In the past three weeks, after the adoption paper have been signed and sealed, they have been doing good, really good. Upon Joonmyeon's pressing Jongdae finally decided to leave his job at the market and to focus solely on school and on himself.  
The mere idea of going back to school made Jongdae ecstatic, Joonmyeon had to hear him rumble about it for days. Books piled up on a corner of Jongdae's room, (Yixing's and Baekhun's old books, and some new ones Joonmyeon bought for him) and when finally the day of his evaluation test came Jongdae was a bundle of nerves and Joonmyeon had to almost nail him to his chair to have him to stay still for longer than three minutes and have a decent breakfast before leaving.  
When the actual school had begun Jongdae's enthusiasm had lessened. At first Joonmyeon thought it was the gap between fantasy and reality that had fazed Jongdae a little, but now he is not so sure anymore. 

“Studying with Yixing”

And there is that. Jongdae had met Yixing at his night school, Yixing being a university student in the midst of trying to become a middle-school teacher. From what he has cajoled out of Jongdae, Yixing is a brilliant teacher and is willing to help Jongdae with his studies totally out of the goodness of his heart. Yixing has become a friend to Jongdae, but Joonmyeon has the feeling that sometimes Yixing is more of a safe place for Jongdae than he is and that, he has to admit, hurts a little.

“What, are you jealous of your special snowflake?” Baekhyun scoffs. 

“It's not that” he says, because he is not exactly jealous he's... a little sad, maybe, but he's not sure because he doesn't really let himself ponder on his feelings for too long these days. 

“If I were you I wouldn't worry” Baekhyun says with a little smile, just as Jongdae shuffles in sniffing. 

“I'm back” he greets, hiking his backpack higher on his shoulders. Yifan gave it to him as a reward when he passed his evaluation. 

“Did you have fun?” Joonmyeon asks and he distinctly hears Baekhyun snigger from where he is checking how many blueberry macarons are left, trying to guess if he is going to get to bring some home or not. 

“We passed by the adoption center on the way back. Yixing-hyung had to pick up some stuff from a shop nearby... There was this woman” he says, hesitating a little. Joonmyeon takes off the backpack for him and Jongdae smiles a little. “She came in to return her hybrid. It wasn't a pretty sight” 

Joonmyeon hears the doors of the kitchen swing and Baekhyun complaining to Yifan about something he can't catch, Baekhyun is unexpectedly thoughtful like that. Jongdae sighs, removing both his scarf and his coat and hanging them in the small in-wall closet near the counter. 

Jongdae's backpack is heavy in his hands, stuffed with books, the lunch box Joonmyeon gave him that morning and all his hopes and dreams and all the expectations he has build in all these years about the life he could create for himself. Joonmyeon clutches the straps a little tighter and them puts it on one of the empty chairs, taking the few steps that separate him from Jongdae. His ears drop a little and only the ghost of a smile lights his face when he turns to look at Joonmyeon. 

“He cried, pleaded and cried, but she didn't hear any of it” Jongdae's eyes look a little glassy, but Joonmyeon knows he won't cry. 

Joonmyeon reaches for his hand, squeezing it a little, giving what meager comfort he can offer. There is a sadness in Jongdae's eyes that speaks a million words. 

 

“Then you went and bought him... curtains?” Lu Han frowns, trying to find the Joonmyeon-logic in all this. 

Joonmyeon and Lu Han have been friends since before Joonmyeon met Baekhyun and decided to fuck everything and open a tea shop. Lu Han was actually the first one to bring them a 100cl bottle of champagne to have a mini celebratory party on the floor of the kitchen the day before the opening.  
They have weekly mandatory cute dates (Baekhyun's words) to keep up with things and commiserate about life. Current topic of discussion is Joonmyeon's debatable ability to conceive his emotions through the fine art of speaking, opting instead for curtains. 

“Curtains are important, they are not the first thing you think of buying when you move somewhere, but in the end they make everything look a little more stable, like it's not 'six months before you get your emancipation and leave' and more like 'stay however long you please, maybe forever'”

The cinnamon roll Joonmyeon ordered is delicious, he should tell Yifan to try those out next. Lu Han drums his fingers over the table, sighing in that irritating way of his. 

“Can't you just be honest with him?” 

Of course, why didn't he think of it earlier. Joonmyeon smiles bitterly and looks at the small crumbles of roll on the plate and doesn't find it all that appetizing anymore. 

“I own him, Lu Han” he says. “It might not feel or actually be like that, but in the eyes of the law I do, and he trusts that I'll not, under any circumstances, hold that over his head, but what if I suddenly told him 'hey how about you don't leave because I'll be miserable if you do?', what would you think?”

Lu Han splits the remaining roll in two and pushes the plate back to Joonmyeon after taking one for himself. 

“I'm not saying I don't want to give this a try, but I want to do it when the time is right”

Lu Han laughs at that, and a piece of roll must go down the wrong way because he almost chokes on it. But when he's fine, still rose cheeked and a little winded he looks at Joonmyeon with half-amusement and half-dismay. 

“There is no right time Joonmyeon, there is only the time you are wasting” Lu Han's tone is slightly reprimanding and Joonmyeon slides over the remaining cinnamon roll as a peace offering. “What you need is a little fun”

 

Little fun translates into an early Christmas party at Lu Han's rooftop apartment. It's small, barely able to fit all the seven of them plus the excessively big Christmas tree Lu Han saved up for this year.  
When Joonmyeon and Jongdae arrive, cold and hungry, they find Chanyeol sitting cross-legged on the couch making kernel garlands under Tao's scrutiny.  
At the sight of another hybrid Jongdae's ears shot to alertness. Tao is sitting on the armrest of the couch, with the tips of his socked feet hidden under Chanyeol's thighs, and Joonmyeon knows that for all his nonchalant act he is paying attention to Jongdae's every move. 

“Welcome” Chanyeol says to the both of them, but paying particular attention to Jongdae. “I'm Chanyeol, do you want to make garlands?” he waves the one he is making and almost knocks off his legs the bag full of pop-corns. Tao scowls and Jongdae smiles, shrugging off his coat. 

Tentatively, Jongdae walks towards the couch, he might look a little nervous, but his tail swishes from side to side happily. Joonmyeon follows, smiling to both Chanyeol and Tao, who winks at Joonmyeon knowingly. He chuckles, in response and Tao seems satisfied.

“Finally” Sehun sighs when he notices Joonmyeon. “You brought your snowflake?” he peers behind Joonmyeon's shoulders and grins, spotting Jongdae sitting at Chanyeol feet making a garland with the kernels Tao is passing him. 

“Snowflake?” Joonmyeon sighs, chancing a look at Jongdae and finding him completely absorbed in his current task. 

“Hyung, I had to find out from Baekhyun you had gotten an hybrid” Sehun frowns. 

Over the past week he has had to explain so much to so many people about how and why and where he got the idea of adopting him, of taking in such a weird thing that he'd really like not to have to do so much explaining to his friends. Not now at least, not when he's not really found a filter thick enough to block his feelings for Jongdae from spilling right out of his mouth.  
If Jongdae is a snowflake then he's going to melt right through Joonmyeon's fingertips and he's really not ready for that thought yet. 

Baekhyun then comes out of Lu Han's bathroom wearing one of Lu Han's brightest sweatshirts and with a dirty shirt in his hands. “Old cat lady” he mutters looking at Chanyeol between disbelieving and amused, then turning to their host “How's dinner coming along?”

They all look at Lu Han, who clasps his hands together, turning his back to whatever they were trying to resuscitate inside the oven and smiles. “So, who's up for pizza?” 

Sehun rolls his eyes and takes out his phone, pizza delivery on speed dial for any kind of emergency, while Lu Han resignedly turns off the oven. 

“What was that supposed to be?” Joonmyeon asks, having sneaked between the two to take a look. A dark blob with splashes of red and... is that a marshmallow? Lu Han turns Joonmyeon away from the sad show of his ruined Christmas dinner, steering him towards the crafty trio on the couch.

“Christmas Spirit pie” Baekhyun sniggers and promptly gets swatted by Lu Han. 

Already halfway through with his first garland, Jongdae has shifted closer to Tao, who engaged him in a playful banter about god knows what. It's nice to see him like this. When he sees Joonmyeon standing right behind Chanyeol, Jongdae smiles, all crinkled eyes and thin lips, as he motions for Joonmyeon to come sit with them. 

“Jongdae was telling us about school” Chanyeol says once Joonmyeon is comfortably seated. He smiles, like a proud parent and Jongdae scoots a little closer to him. 

“He's a very dedicated student” he coos, ruffling Jongdae's hair, they grew quite a bit and would need a little trimming. Jongdae swats his hand away smiling, and tries to flatten his rebellious bangs with small success. 

“You should come by the salon so we can do something about that hair of yours, Jongdae” Tao says popping a kernel into his mouth and making Chanyeol frown.

“Those are not for eating” he scolds, but Tao merely waves him off. 

“Salon?” Jongdae looks a little uneasy.

“Yeah, you wouldn't tell looking at him” Sehun says, pointing at Chanyeol and stealing a handful of pop-corns from Chanyeol's lap “But these two own a beauty salon” 

Tao glares at Sehun, but with very scarce results. “Anyway, come by when you have time, since you are Joonmyeon-hyung's snowflake I'll do it for free”

“Snowflake?” Jongdae turns to Joonmyeon who really wishes people would stop referring to Jongdae as such just because Baekhyun finds funny to mock and pity Joonmyeon's existence. 

“Yes but don't do anything... rush, ok?” Joonmyeon shivers at the memory of his bright green hair when Tao absolutely had to try this new brand of hair dye last time Joonmeyon let him near his hair. A very fine picture of his shocked face when he saw his reflection for the first time had been Baekhyun's wallpaper for a long long time and Joonmyeon had to hear him giggle to himself every time he picked up his phone. Shivering at the memory Joonmyeon is startled by the feeling of Jongdae's shoulder leaning slightly against his knee. 

Dinner is the usual ordeal, with the addiction of Jongdae, who gets tossed around like a new toy for everyone to pet, chew and coo at, like in a sort of rite of passage. Baekhyun is very prone to have Jongdae to eat at least one and a half of the pizzas they ordered by himself, while Lu Han subtly steals pieces of ham right under Sehun's nose. 

Despite it all being a little overwhelming, Jongdae doesn't look particularly put out, just tired maybe, if the heavy sigh he lets out once they get inside Joonmyeon's car is anything to go by. 

“I should have warned you” Joonmyeon says, reaching over the passenger seat to scratch behind Jongdae's ears. 

“It was fun” Jongdae mumbles curling a little on himself. “They are all very... colorful”

Joonmyeon chuckles, starting the engine, and the radio lights up spreading a sweet Christmas song he remembers from a cereal commercial some years ago. Humming under his breath he turns on the heater. It's pretty late and the streets are mostly empty.

“Joonmyeon?” Jongdae is tracing idle patterns over the foggy window, looking a little distracted. 

“What is it?” 

“Would it be fine if... ” a deep breath and he can feel Jongdae watching him. “... if I came to visit... after all this is over, I mean, would it be ok?” 

Joonmyeon wishes they were home and he'd be able to look at Jongdae properly in the eyes without crashing them both against the first streetlamp. He'd like to squeeze Jongdae's hands and see him smile, even if small and still a little sad. He'd like Jongdae to want to come back and stay, if in the spare room at the end of the hallway, on the other side of Joonmyeon's bed, doesn't matter. 

“You will always been welcome, both home and at the shop. If anything happens you'll always have me... and Baekhyun and Yifan”

He hears a sigh and then Jongdae's hand reaches for the radio, fumbling with the buttons in the darkness, until he finally finds a station that passes old classics and he settles back in his seat. 

“Zitao is Chanyeol's pet?” he asks out of the blue, though Joonmyeon should have expected it. 

“I'd say it's more the other way around” Joonmyeon chuckles. “Chanyeol's mother adopted Tao to be Chanyeol's playmate when he was six. He was a shy kid and he wasn't really able to make friends. They pulled at each others hair, fought over who had the biggest slice of cake and swapped toys” Joonmyeon stops at a red light and turns to the passenger seat where Jongdae is looking at him with interest. 

“Tao is Chanyeol's very annoying and very needy little brother. He's a son to Chanyeol's parents as much as Chanyeol is, they are family”

The light turns green and Joonmyeon turns left. When he chances a look on the passenger seat he finds Jongdae fast asleep, with his head against the fogging window. 

 

A busy Monday morning Joonmyeon is writing new season specials on the board, balancing precariously on a ladder. Baekhyun is being absolutely useless, telling him in exactly how many ways he could die falling from said ladder, having apparently read an article on the internet about it.  
Joonmyeon mostly ignores him and is totally grateful that the shop is still empty. He is trying to write 'Santa's Helper's Tea' in his best handwriting when the bell over the door chimes and Baekhyun spins around so fast Joonmyeon for a moment fears he is actually going to die falling from a ladder. 

“Good morning!” Baekhyun chirps, while Joonmyeon climbs down. 

“Hi” the guy says and he looks around like he is not sure what he is doing here. His eyes fall on the still half finished board. “Can I have a cup of that?” he asks Baekhyun. 

“A cup Santa's Helper's right away” Joonmyeon reaches for the right pot while Baekhyun goes about heating the water. 

The guy leans over the counter, looking around curiously. “Uhm... Are you perhaps Kim Joonmyeon?” 

“Yes, who are you?”

The guy smiles, “I'm Zhang Yixing, Jongdae's teacher at the night school”

Joonmyeon has never seen Yixing in person, only heard of him from Jongdae who tells him Yixing is kind, unexpectedly smart and who doesn't treat Jongdae any differently from the rest of his class. It should be enough for Joonmyeon to find the guy likeable at least. His appearance isn't too hard on the eyes, he stands straight on his two feet and with eyes open and bright. Maybe he looks a little like he tries too hard, but Joonmyeon isn't in any position to judge him for that. 

“Ah, yes, Jongdae told me a lot about you” he says with a smile he would offer to a very difficult client. 

“Well, I doubt it's a fraction of all the things I heard about you” Yixing says it like he knows this will please Joonmyeon in some way. “Would you mind joining me for a cup of tea?”

Joonmyeon wasn't really going to refuse, but Baekhyun decides for him, as per usual, thrusting in his not so waiting hands a tray with a hot tea-pot and two cups.  
Yixing leaves Joonmyeon the honor of pouring tea for the both of them. He has on this pleasant smile, business like and Joonmyeon feels under scrutiny. 

“It's a nice shop” Yixing looks around with a polite smile. It's painfully obvious that small talk is as awkward for him as it is for Joonmyeon. 

“Thank you, as a first attempt at interior design I think we made a good job” though it didn't come without fighting and shouting and at least a couple of brushes being hurled at walls and heads. 

“I'm sorry” Joonmyeon blurts out, not really in the mood for beating around the bush “but is something wrong at school?”

Yixing's smile falters a little, he takes the cup Joonmyeon is offering and sips the scalding hot tea without blinking. A rock has lodged itself inside Joonmyeon's throat, a bundle of worry and guilt that makes it hard for him to swallow down his own tea. 

“He's doing fine overall, he's very eager to learn and even made a few friends” Yixing begins, then his lips stretch into a thin line. “I know maybe it's not really my place to say this, but... Jongdae hides his cat traits in school, I think more than shame he's afraid of judgment, our school accepts hybrids, but some people still haven't grown out of their stereotypes and I think he feels less pressured that way”

Joonmyeon feels a little defeated, because Jongdae thinking he is anything less than amazing and wonderful is a defeat. It's like they are back at the first night, with the old deep blue beanie, the guard and Jongdae never taking his eyes off the pavement as they walked home.  
Sometimes Jongdae smiles so brightly, so beautifully, Joonmyeon forgets that Jongdae was once - still is - sad and bruised. 

“He says it's easier if people don't know” Yixing looks genuinely concerned. Joonmyeon thanks him, it was kind of him to have come all the way to tell him about it, assuring him that he'd talk to Jongdae. 

“I'll leave you my number, if you needed anything”

Yixing smiles as he stands to leave. His cup is still half full, but Joonmyeon is grateful for his consideration. 

 

Joonmyeon gets home later than usual that night. After a very busy afternoon they had to refill a lot of their blends and Yifan wanted to have them taste his first ever original secret recipe, so they ended up eating all the cake, which tasted delicious, and helped cleaning up the kitchen afterward.  
Slipping the key in the hole on the front door Joonmyeon takes a deep breath. He had time to think about what to say and probably, weren't Baekhyun always around and snooping, he'd have made a list of things he absolutely had to remind Jongdae and reasons why Jongdae should never feel like hiding himself for fear of other people's judgment. 

“You brought cake?” Jongdae's head peeks in, his hair look mussed and stand up in weird directions, he probably tried blowdrying this time. Joonmyeon would have liked to see it. 

“I deserve a medal for saving this from Baekhyun's hungry claws” Joonmyeon says, waving the take-out box. 

Jongdae quickly grabs it, holding it to his chest and smelling oranges and cinnamon. “Yifan-hyung probably set this aside for me on the top shelf, where your grabby hands couldn't reach”

“I had to take the ladder out, I could have died falling” Joonmyeon whines following Jongdae in the kitchen. 

Jongdae eats the cake right out of the box, washing it down with white melon and cream tea. It's a blend too sweet for Joonmyeon's liking, but Baekhyun made it especially for Jongdae an inventory afternoon, while Yifan and Joonmyeon actually did inventory and the two of them played around in the kitchen.  
He sits crosslegged in front of the coffee table, absorbed by the documentary showing how a lioness affectionately bathes her cubs, ruffling their furs with her scratchy tongue. Joonmyeon drops himself on the couch, and Jongdae gives him a sideways look. 

“Tired?” he asks, shifting so that his back rests on the couch. His tail tickles Joonmyeon's calf and then wraps comfortingly around his ankle. 

“A little” without really trying to restrain himself, Joonmyeon cards a hand through Jongdae's unruly hair eliciting a pleased hum from Jongdae. “You blow-dried them?”

“Hmm... I'm going to Tao's tomorrow and I wanted to get acquainted with the feeling” 

They watch TV in silence for awhile, Joonmyeon mindlessly scratching Jongdae's ears and neck and Jongdae humming in appreciation. He probably shouldn't delay the Serious Talk he has rehearsed and pictured in his mind since Yixing left the shop that afternoon. 

“Yixing came by the shop today” he can feel Jongdae's body stiffen from where he's leaned on over on Joonmyeon's leg. “He told me about school, about how you still hide yourself from everyone”

At that Jongdae goes painfully rigid, his ears flatten on his head, and when he turns to look at Joonmyeon his eyes are blank. Joonmyeon tires to reach for him, but Jongdae retreats, hitting the coffee table with his lower back and spilling all the tea left in his mug. He curses, standing to get a cloth to clean up the mess.  
Joonmyeon follows him in the kitchen, not really about to give up. 

“What do you want me to say?” Jongdae asks, briskly, when he sees Joonmyeon has followed him, with his knuckles going white around the cloth he is holding. He looks defensive, scared and this is not how Joonmyeon wanted this conversation to go. “People still think I'm a mindless pet, worse than a house cat. I know hiding this won't make things go away, at the end of the day I'm still an hybrid with less rights that your average pet, but I can pretend” Jongdae blinks furiously, as close to crying as Joonmyeon has ever seen him. 

Joonmyeon takes a tentative step ahead, but is careful to leave an arm between them, Jongdae already looks wrung up enough without Joonmyeon getting up in his face. 

“I wish you didn't have to hide a part of yourself for people to see how amazing you are” 

Jongdae seems to deflate at that, his stance gets less defensive and in a blur Joonmyeon has an armful of Jongdae. It's not the first time they hugged, but it never felt this intimate with the way Jongdae clings desperately to his back. He feels Jongdae's breath on his neck, feels him breath deep and slow like he is breathing in Joonmyeon, and he clings right back with just as much desperation.  
It begins shyly and Joonmyeon almost misses it, but it gets more and more insistent, Jongdae is licking his neck, his tongue is slightly scratchy, more like a cat's and Joonmyeon has to bite back a moan when Jongdae focuses on a particular spot. 

“Jongdae?” he croaks out, already a little breathless.

He feels Jongdae stiffen, but neither of them make any move to put distance between each other. “I'm sorry” Jongdae whispers on the still wet patch of skin, making Joonmyeon shiver. 

“No, it's... fine” please, go ahead, he doesn't say clutching to what little firmness he still has in his bones. 

The air is thick with awkwardness when they separate and go back to the living-room. Jongdae quickly wipes away the fallen tea and he refuses to look at him. Joonmyeon is afraid to find out if it's out shame or regret.  
Not willing to leave things as they are Joonmyeon offers a movie and Jongdae accepts, curling on his usual end of the couch.  
They sit with a reasonable distance between them, nothing out of the ordinary, but Jongdae is not leaning towards him, waiting for Joonmyeon's hands to card through his hair, instead he sits stiffly with his knees drawn up and his eyes glued to the TV.  
Joonmyeon watches him with fascination, as the lights on the screen reflect in his eyes. It's pretty in the most disarmingly conventional way, and Joonmyeon likes it a lot more than the first time he saw them light up in front of a cup of tea, almost loves those eyes and the way Jongdae has accommodated himself in the space Joonmyeon has been willing to give him, craving a space for himself inside Joonmyeon's apartment, inside Joonmyeon's life. And he is right there, Joonmyeon just needs to be brave enough to reach for him.  
Five minutes into the movie Jongdae starts to wriggle in his seat, his tail curls and uncurls nervously, while his hands scratch the soft fabric of his sweats. Then, abruptly he turns to look at Joonmyeon, catching his eyes. He frowns, like he is looking for something, Joonmyeon is about to ask 'what?' when Jongdae leans over the small space that separates them and... well, tries to kiss him.  
It's quick, dry and a total miss, in his hurry Jongdae caught his chin, but the intention was pretty clear, even to Joonmyeon. Jongdae has always been the braver one between the two of them.

Joonmyeon feels giddy, like when they put the sign 'Open' for the first time at the shop and everything could go incredibly well or incredibly wrong, but the moment was too big and too overwhelming to really consider either. It feels the same now, with Jongdae's at an arm's length and an ocean of possibilities away. He reaches over, cupping Jongdae's neck where he knows Jongdae likes, he feels the muscle tense under his fingertips, but the effect is almost instantaneous.  
Jongdae is warm when he molds into Joonmyeon's side like he has always been there, solid and comforting. His hands grip on Joonmyeon's sweater and scratch a little at his belly. 

Halfway through the movie Jongdae looks up at him and Joonmyeon smiles as he leans down to kiss him square on the lips. 

 

*

 

 

From: Chanyeol.  
Tao dug out the big guns ¬¬¬¬

Attached to the message there is a picture, probably taken from behind the counter without Tao's knowledge. It's a little blurry, but Joonmyeon can see Zitao cooing over Jongdae, who is wrapped in one of Tao's leopard print plastic capes and has something bluish-green in his hair. They are both smiling, so he guesses it can't be that bad. 

From: Chanyeol.  
Don't worry hyung, I'm sure you'll like it. 

The messaging continues all through the day. He gets hints and weird angled pictures (of what he is not really sure), but if the captions both Tao and Chanyeol accompanying them with are anything to go by they all seem to be having fun. He gets a message from Jongdae too, from Chanyeol's phone, saying that his own phone got confiscated to prevent any kind of spoiler to Joonmyeon. 

From: Tao  
we're celebrating tonight! Dress code: tight jeans and no sweaters. Come over at 9pm we'll go from here.

 

There has been a constant stream of costumers all day at some point people started to line outside and they had to drag Yifan out of the kitchen for everyone's delight. With the three of them working together they had managed to fend off most of the crowd and when Yifan runs back in the kitchen to replenish their sweets' display, Joonmyeon and Baekhyun can easily manage. 

It's about closing time, there are few costumers left and just one of the tables is occupied by two high-schoolers that are probably waiting for Yifan to make another guest appearance. 

“I know something you don't know” Baekhyun sing-songs as he prepares a take-away box of honey bombs. When Joonmyeon doesn't even bother acknowledging him, he continues. “It's about Jongdae... ”

“Whatever it is if it has to do with what Tao did to his hair I don't want to know, you know I suck at acting and Tao would be able to tell right away and then he'd be onto you for ruining everything” he smiles when he turns to see Baekhyun mocking him.

Tying a pretty bow on the box Baekhyun hands it over o the amused lady on the other side of the display. She's a regular who likes a little show to go with her purchases and Baekhyun is always more than willing to deliver. 

“And would that be all, Miss?”

She smiles bashfully and nods, Baekhyun checks her out and waves her off with a saccharine smile and a 'See you soon'. Joonmyeon fakes gags in the empty coffee bag. 

“Congratulations, your regression back to kindergarten is finally complete, Sehun will be most satisfied” he adds a very slow and mocking clap. 

“Go close up” is Joonmyeon's best comeback. 

 

They meet up at Tao and Chanyeol's place. On his way there Joonmyeon went to pick up Baekhyun, whom tsked and sighed so much at Joonmyeon's outfit that they had to go back to Joonmyeon's apartment for him to change into something less hideous. They are, clearly the last to arrive, and while Baekhyun recounts the struggles of finding something decent inside Joonmyeon's closet, Joonmyeon is too occupied with staring at Jongdae to care much.  
They have seen each other this morning when Jongdae came by the shop on his way to work, but Joonmyeon feels like he has a totally different person in front of him now.  
He has deep red hair, artfully tousled that leave his forehead open and... boy, can those cheek-bones cut glass. Joonmyeon needs a moment to capture the perfection that is Jongdae right this second and bottle it up, take a picture and make a movie out of it because he is that perfect with that knowing smirk and bold attitude. 

“You like?” he asks, sliding an arm behind Joonmyeon's waist. His ears twitch nervously a little on top of his head giving him away despite the smirk still in place. 

“Love it” Joonmyeon whispers on his neck, planting a wet kiss right there and making Jongdae twitch under his arm. 

“Come on we've got to celebrate!” Tao says, dragging Lu Han and Baekhyun with him to lead the way. 

“Since we're celebrating Jongdae's new apartment why aren't we celebrating inside Jongdae's new apartment? What kind of housewarming is this?” Sehun asks looking to no one in particular. 

“Because it's my new apartment and I want it to remain as such for a while longer” Jongdae deadpans. “Also I've been living there two weeks I don't want to be thrown out because drunk you decides to re-enact Titanic on the balcony”

They all burst out laughing and Sehun sputters and tries to hide his blush into his scarf, with scarce success. 

With a smile Jongdae extricates himself from Joonmyeon and jogs forward to join Tao and Baekhyun, who scratches his ears almost reflexively and puts an arm around his shoulder, asking him about his cute boss at the travel agency. 

After that evening they had talked about them and Jongdae had confessed, with his face squashed into Joonmyeon's pillow, that more than tea it was Joonmyeon himself who had drawn him into the tea shop. They had set a slow pace, made of shy close-lipped kisses and hungry make-out sessions on the couch, but nothing more than that. At least until ten months later, when Jongdae had finally gotten his emancipation.  
The months that followed Jongdae's graduation had been quite a struggle for the both of them, with Jongdae getting more frustrated with himself after every rejection, building up hopes only to have them crumbling down one after another. Most of the time he ended up taking it out on Joonmyeon.  
Then Jongdae had met Kyungsoo, owner of 'Do's Travel Agency', who didn't mind a lot of things and Jongdae being an hybrid was one of them. Things had slowly but steadily gotten better and now, almost a year and a half later, Jongdae has managed to rent a small place all by himself.  
It feels lonely without him around the house, Joonmyeon still has to get accustomed to have the bed all to himself on most nights. But there are afternoons where Jongdae comes to the shop and steals him for a couple of hours just to mindlessly walk around, or when he comes in and orders tea like he used to and watches Joonmyeon work. And when that happens Joonmyeon always sneaks off earlier because Jongdae always looks a little sadder on those days because people still stare, and judge and can't look past the surface.  
But there are also nights when he comes home to find Jongdae on the couch with Chinese take-out and they eat and kiss and then he lets himself be dragged to bed and Joonmyeon thinks that, in the end, it is worth it.


End file.
